The maroon oriole (''Oriolus traillii'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family Oriolidae. It is found in Southeast Asia.

Taxonomy

The maroon oriole was originally described in the genus ''

Pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

''. Along with the

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

, black-and-crimson and

silver oriole The silver oriole (''Oriolus mellianus'') is a species of bird in the family Oriolidae. It breeds in southern China and winters in mainland Southeast Asia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or ...

s, it belongs to a clade of red and black orioles. Four

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are recognized: * ''O. t. traillii'' – ( Vigors, 1832) occurs from the Himalayas to southern China, northern

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

and northern Thailand * ''O. t. ardens'' – ( R. Swinhoe, 1862) occurs in Taiwan * ''O. t. nigellicauda'' – (Swinhoe, 1870) occurs on

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

* ''O. t. robinsoni'' – Delacour, 1927 occurs in southern Indochina

Description

The maroon oriole has maroon and black plumage with a black head, neck and wings with a blueish beak. The females have slightly darker bodies and the juveniles have lighter bodies. The adult male is glossy crimson-maroon in color, with black head, neck and wings and a chestnut-maroon tail. The females and immature males have a greyish-white underpart with black streaks. Colouration varies somewhat across the range, with those in the Indian Subcontinent having duller colours and those in Southeast Asia having brighter colours, also tending to somewhat reddish tones.

Distribution and habitat

The maroon oriole is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand,

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

, and Vietnam. In India, it is found from

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

east to

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares int ...

and the hills of

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is subtropical or tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

Behavior and ecology

The maroon oriole lives alone or in pairs. The nesting season is from April to May. The nest is a deep massive cup of

bast fibre Bast fibre (also called phloem fibre or skin fibre) is plant fibre collected from the phloem (the "inner bark", sometimes called "skin") or bast surrounding the stem of certain dicotyledonous plants. It supports the conductive cells of the phloe ...

that is bound with cobwebs. Both male and female birds share the parental duties.

Diet and feeding

The maroon oriole eats wild figs, berries, insects and nectar.

References

maroon oriole The maroon oriole (''Oriolus traillii'') is a species of bird in the family Oriolidae. It is found in Southeast Asia. Taxonomy The maroon oriole was originally described in the genus ''Rosy starling, Pastor''. Along with the Black oriole, black, ...

Birds of North India Birds of Nepal Birds of Eastern Himalaya Birds of Yunnan Birds of Hainan Birds of Taiwan Birds of Southeast Asia

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Birds of Myanmar {{Oriolidae-stub